Experimental Study of Wake Evolution under Vertical Staggered Arrangement of Wind Turbines of Different Sizes

Abstract

During the expansion of a wind farm, the strategic placement of wind turbines can significantly improve wind energy utilization. This study investigates the evolution of wake turbulence in a wind farm after introducing smaller wind turbines within the gaps between larger ones, focusing on aspects such as wind speed, turbulence intensity, and turbulence integral length scale. The flow field conditions are described using parameters like turbulence critical length and power spectral density, as determined through wind tunnel experiments. In these experiments, a single large wind turbine model and nine smaller wind turbine models were used to create a small wind farm unit, and pressure distribution behind the wind turbines was measured under various operating conditions. The results indicate that downstream wind speed deficits intensify as the number of small wind turbines in operation increases. The impact of these smaller turbines varies with height, with a relatively minor effect on the upper blade tip and increasingly adverse effects as you move from the upper blade tip to the lower blade tip. Through an analysis of power spectral density, the contribution of vortex motion to wake turbulence kinetic energy is further quantified. In the far wake region, the number of small wind turbines has a relatively small impact on wind speed fluctuations.

Effect of Turbulence Intensity on Aerodynamic Loads of Floating Wind Turbine under Wind–Wave Coupling Effect

“…Xu et al [25] found that by improving the Caputo-Fabrizio fractional order derivative SR in the vibration diagnosis of wind turbine systems, the weak vibration signals are amplified, which effectively improves the vibration detection efficiency of wind turbines operating in strong turbulence environments. Zhang et al [26] proposed a new layout method for wind turbines. They studied the evolution process of wind turbine wake through the wind tunnel test, and analyzed the speed distribution and turbulence characteristics of wind farms through the turbulence intensity and other factors.…”